See it in action
See it in action
How to play
Each day you're given a start word and a target. Work your way from one to the other, changing a single letter per step.
Today's puzzle might take you from COLD to WARM. The target word sits at the bottom of the board, faded and waiting. Get there.
COLD becomes CORD — just one letter changes. Every word you play must be a real four-letter word. No proper nouns, no abbreviations.
Every puzzle has a par — the minimum steps needed. Beat it, match it, or just get there. You can't reuse words already in your chain.
Scoring
Every puzzle has a par — the fewest possible steps to reach the target. Lower is better.
You found a shorter path than par. Rarer than it sounds — these routes take real lateral thinking.
You matched the optimal solution. Efficient, clean, exactly what the puzzle was designed for.
You got there. Every puzzle is beatable — taking a few extra steps still counts as a win.
Stuck? Use the hint button. It fills in the next optimal word for you — but your score is capped at Par. You won't be able to earn Eagle once you've used a hint.
Features
Everything you need to make Drift part of your daily routine — and nothing you don't.
One new word pair drops every day at midnight. Everyone in the world plays the same puzzle — compare results with friends.
Keep your streak alive by solving consecutive daily puzzles. Miss a day and you start over. The longer the streak, the harder it is to risk.
Reveal the next optimal word when you're stuck. Hints cap your score at Par — so save them for when you really need them.
Your solve time is tracked from the moment the puzzle appears. Pauses whenever you leave the app — only counts time you're actually playing.
Share your result as a spoiler-free emoji grid. Your path, your score, your time — all without revealing the actual words.
Opt in to a notification when each new puzzle drops. Easy to turn on or off anytime — no spam, just a nudge.
Collect badges across Score, Streak, Volume, and Craft categories. Hit milestones like Drift Eagle, 100-Day Streak, 1,000 Drifts, and Hat Trick.
Missed yesterday? Replay any of the last 7 days in practice mode without affecting your stats — or unlock the full archive with Drift+.
Stuck and way over par? Clear your chain and start fresh. Reset as many times as you need — but Par and Eagle become unavailable for that puzzle.
Your streak, stats, and badges follow you between iPhone and iPad automatically. No accounts, no sign-ins — just your Apple ID.
Built natively for both. Bigger tiles and a roomier keyboard on iPad, perfectly sized layout on every iPhone.
DRIFT+
An optional subscription that unlocks the deeper Drift experience. Family Sharing supported — one purchase covers everyone in your Apple Family.
Free players keep the last 7 days. Drift+ unlocks every puzzle ever published — replay any of them in practice mode.
See the optimal path for any past puzzle, end-to-end. Great for the ones that stumped you.
Pure Eagle, Hat Trick, 100-Day Streak, 1,000 Drifts, 1,500 Drifts, and No-Hint Week — exclusive to members.
Future themes, modes, and extras — included automatically for as long as you're a member.